President’s Message – July/August 2021

2018 Beat the Heat. Photo by Robert Hill

We’re getting there!  The “return to normal” continues to progress for TCTC and most other things in our lives.  In person racing is back on the calendar.  Activities are being scheduled. Group runs are growing in number.  It feels good.

As we’ve continuously adapted and learned over the past 16 months, we’ve been fortunate to have access to information from numerous other running organizations about how to address the COVID pandemic.  Our parent organization, Road Runners Club of America, has been an invaluable resource.  We’ve also learned from Road Race Management, USATF, RunSignUp and others.  Your board has deliberated the best way to approach club events and activities.  It hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud of how your board has handled things.  Board members displayed resilience and innovation in deciding what to do and how to do it. 

You elected a new board of directors that became effective May 2.  I want to thank our two members who rotated off the board this year.  Molly Nunn served the past year as Membership Chair and did a nice job during a challenging year.  Molly has been an active TCTC member for many years and we look forward to her future contributions to our club.  Thanks Molly!  The other board member who rotated off this year is Robert Hill. Robert served most recently as Webmaster and as President two years ago.  In total, Robert has now served 14 total years on the TCTC Board, exceeded only by Bill Walker, Bob Sosnik, and Keith Stone.  Robert continues to serve TCTC with his photography talents at many TCTC races and activities.  Thank you, Robert, for all you’ve done and continue to do for TCTC!

We welcomed 5 additions to the TCTC Board for 2021.  Two are members who have served previously.  Bill Gibbs will take on the Race Timing role and Ashley Esleeck is in the Vice President role.  We have 3 first time TCTC Board members serving this year:  Hannah Boles is Activities Co-Chair, Sheri Masters is Flyer Editor, and Latisha Alford is a Member At Large.  We’ve packed the board with a lot of talent and I look forward to seeing what we can do.

It was exciting to see 55 club members at the picnic held on May 2 at Leinbach Park.  At the meeting, we introduced the new board members mentioned above and acknowledged a member supported update to the club Bylaws.  The Bylaws updates include the addition of our club mission statement and specific board responsibilities to carry out our mission and objectives. One of these responsibilities is a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. We will do our best to serve our members and the running community at large in the fulfillment of our duties and responsibilities.

I will close with my challenge to all of you as club members.  Seek out ways to get involved.  Support club events and activities as a participant and/or volunteer.  Help to promote the value of TCTC membership to other runners.  And please let us know what you’re thinking.  Reach out to a board member and let us know how we’re doing and how you want to help.  We’re over 550 strong and together we can make a big difference.

Happy Running!

Er